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14.5.10

How to save a bee

I opened up the polytunnel on a cold, grey afternoon and heard a dull buzzing. There, twitching feebly in the soil, was a tired bumble bee. She probably wore herself out trying to find an exit and the chilly, overcast weather can't have helped much. I remembered something I'd heard about sugar syrup, so I gently coaxed her onto my hand and took her inside.

I placed her on a saucer and quickly mixed up some cold water and caster sugar, making a liquid syrup she could drink and dolloped it on her plate. She was so dopey and weak I had to carefully steer her to the puddles, but once she realised what it was, she began drinking.

As her feet were slipping I popped a leaf under her. After about five minutes she seemed to have drunk her fill and was anxiously crawling about, already a little stronger.

I took her back into the garden and settled her on a pot where she collected her wits, had a little wash and eventually - well, see for yourselves! (There is some lovely birdsong in the background too).

Bees are having a dreadful time of it, with the combined efforts of mankind and diseases; although we can't keep a hive, I am going to make more of an effort to look after the weary ones, especially now I know how easy - and effective - it is. When the bees die out, we are not far behind.

edit - many thanks to Jill of Third Age Musings, for letting me know that this was a Red-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus Lapidarius and I now wonder if she was a Queen, emerging from hibernation?

51 comments:

Fantastic video and post! I will remember your tips. I love to see bees, especially in my own little garden. I try to grow 'bee plants' like lungwort that flower in early spring to give them something when they are waking up, but as you say we really have to do more.... thanks and enjoy your weekend! Cathyx

A lovely post - have done this many times,don't you love the way they clean themselves off? And thank you for giving me the opportunity to practise my bumblebee spotting skills (I'm a new member of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust) and I can pretty definitely say that you rescued a Red-tailed bumblebee - Bombus lapidarius

How lovely. I was photographing some nettles in the garden a couple of days ago and found myself photographing the bees instead. I've been seriously thinking about keeping bees recently.......maybe next year.....

well done Gretel. I've defintely noticed that there are less bees around this year. Our plum tree normally swarms with them but when it blossomed a few weeks ago there were only a few hard at work. We're going to build a bug hotel later this year for hibernating bees and bugs but in the meantime we'll keep an eye out for any weary ones and use your great tips.

Well done, Gretel. I'm a member of the Bumblee Bee Conservation Trust too http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/ It's well worth a look at their site. Love these fat furry bees especially, we must do what we can to help them survive.

Big Dave does this with every weary bee he finds, it is brilliant to see them revive but as he is so allergic to bees that one sting will dispatch him within mere seckonds it freaks me out...maybe the bees know and he is actually proctecting himself by stocking up on good bee karma!We used to have five hives, love them little bees they are so interesting

Dear Gretel...I am smiling ear to ear!! Well done and I am sure your little Bumble will tell all its buddies of your kindness and they will pollenate all your flowers. Love the red tail. Thanks so much for sharing this with us..a real treat. your friend, Janet

What a fantastic video. Now if this were a story, when you needed help most, the Queen of the bees would be there to save you! Hopefully they will leave a marker showing that you are a kind hearted bee lady and pollinate all your flowers & plants for you:)

What a wonderful post!! We have had SO many bees here this spring, buzzing around the Ajuga. I'm hoping to get a Mason Bee house up this year and I would dearly love an old fashioned straw bee skep!! I never knew about the sugar syrup though...great information.

Thank you for the lovely post! I live in the U.S. and I don't think I've ever seen a bumblebee that's all black. But, to be honest, I didn't realize there were so many kinds, either, so I'm going to pay closer attention to them, too.

We have a bumblebee nest in our yard, though--they live in a hole in the ground!

What a kind soul you are! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Here in southeast Texas, the bee population is also suffering -- no doubt from insecticides, ever diminishing habitat, and hurricanes. I share your view that when bees are gone, soon we will be, too.

I'm SO glad you saved the bee and I'm also very thankful you posted this. I've found some floundering honeybees out in the garden in the past few months and haven't known what I could possibly do for them. I'll try this next time. I am such a fan of bees, but like you I can't keep a hive. So I do everything else I can to help them.

Lovely. How rewarding to see her liven up, freshen up and then, buzzzz, fly away. You have been a bee fairy!I have done a painting of a red tailed bumblebee (loved the colours) but have never seen one. What I do have in the garden here are the big black Mason bees, which are supposed to be hard workers, excellent for the garden and mostly stingerless.The bees have suffered here too but seem to be making a comeback.May the bees bless you!

Oh, dear Gretel, what a nice and compassionate person you are! I live in a town and I don't have experience with bees but I love what you've done - saving this little soul in the most appropriate way! I enjoyed the video very much, I liked the text and the birds' singing. I think I heard a turtle-dove? It always reminds me of my early childhood, when we lived in a house in the centre of the town...

What a lovely post - and video! I used to be terrified of bees but am very fond of them these days. Lovely to see and read, thank you! (I'm having problems getting my comment to post, so if this posts more than once, my apologies).

We have always saved bees and butterflies in our family - must be something my mother taught me - but we usually find a nice flowery plant to tempt them. Fascinating watching the film and seeing it get itself all spruced up and ready to go. I quite fancy bee-keeping but where we live it is totally impractical - lots of them buzzing round our apple blossom which is heartening.

Gretel, it's been a while since I last visit your blog, it's good to read you again! I agree with you, if bees die out, what will come to all of us... We have to take care of every big or tiny creature of our planet.I encourage you to get your drive license, it seems you have a terrific time at your stall. Go for it!As for my future little etsy shop, yes, I would like to open it, we'll see...

Thanks for sharing this Gretel.Now I know what to do too if I find a tired and weary bee :)Hubby is about to look into keeping some, which would be great as like you say they need all the help they can get. :)

I'm so glad the bumble made a good recovery. Wish I'd known about this a few days ago--I found a bumblebee that needed some help, so I put it in a quiet place, but I'm sure a sweet drink would have helped, too. Next time I'll know...

I don't know you; I stumbled across your blog very much by accident. But this post (and your many others) shows what an obviously lovely person you must be. May you be taken care of like that when you need it.

Also, what type of camera did you use to film the bee? The quality is amazing.

I've found a poorly bee in my bathroom and currently trying to nurse him back to health. didn't have any sugar or syrup but he's currently licking a jelly bean that I ran under water! hopefully works, I'll post an update later...

Ok so I left another few jelly beans for him overnight and went to bed, didn't want to put him outside at night as it was chilly. he was still eating this morning, I put him on the window ledge and he flew away after a few mins. success!

I just found one on my bedroom floor,it's having a drink of honey.It's the obvious choice to revive them and it's instant.I will put him/her on a windowsill before I leave for work and hope it's done the trick ;-)